Draco & Hermione
by aphrodite-phaedra
Summary: The War between Light and Dark was over. Voldemort was victorious. Harry was wounded. Lucius was dead. The Weasleys were hiding. Hermione was captured and Draco was rewarded....
1. One

**Draco and Hermione**   
by aphrodite-phaedra

War had passed. Victory had gone to Voldemort, even if he was wounded badly. Harry Potter was barely hanging on. Draco Malfoy's father had fallen and his mother clung to him. He now controlled his father's finances and had taken his father's place as favourite of Voldemort. The Weasleys had gone into hiding for fear of being captured like so many others had. Like Hermione Granger had.

Hundreds of Light Siders had been captured and forced to work for Voldemort. The men were turned into labourers, made to do menial chores. The children were brainwashed and were converted to the Dark Side as future warriors of Voldemort. The elderly were killed. But the prisoners who were most to be pitied were the women. They were 'presented' to various Dark wizards who had helped Voldemort as rewards for their work. These women had no value, their lives were not their own and they were easily replaceable.

This is the story of one such woman. Of how her determination to free herself won for herself a valuable ally. This is the story of Hermione Granger.

* * *

**Author's Note:   
**Well, here it is. My next attempt at a decent Harry Potter Fanfiction. Please review with any comments you think are helpful so that I can work to improve my writing. I realize this chapter is very short but I meant for it to be some sort of introduction to the situation the story is set in. If you're wondering where I got the idea for this fiction, it was from Maroon 5's 'She Will Be Loved'.   
aphrodite-phaedra 


	2. Two

**Draco and Hermione  
**by aphrodite-phaedra

Voldemort smiled. "Bow before me." Hermione remained as upright as ever. Voldemort's smile widened. "Well now, they have you young ones trained well--too well." His smile very abruptly disappeared. "We shall see how long you keep silent. Believe me, child, it would be better for you if you spoke now rather than later."

Hermione was itching to scream at him but very wisely kept her mouth shut. She had been trained to, firstly, keep silent on the plans Dumbledore had for the Light Siders, no matter what, and, secondly, to show no emotion whatsoever, should she be captured. Surely the others would come for her. Even if they did not, Hermione understood very well the reasons.

Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.

The click of Voldemort's cane against the floor brought her thoughts back to the present. He was whispering something to a hooded Death Eaters, who whispered something back. Voldemort's smile returned.

"Well, my dear girl, it is my duty-- no pleasure, to inform you that from now on, you'll be working _very_ closely with some of my best men to help your lovely self reveal Dumbledore's plan to me." He tapped his cane once sharply on the floor and out of the shadows came a man. If the man had not been frowning so decidedly, he may have looked at least decent but the scowl on his face seemed to be deeply etched into the skin of his face. He bowed low.

"My Lord."

"Hermione, this is Mr McNib. He has, out of the kindness of his heart--" Hermione snorted inwardly,"-- agreed to let you stay at his house for the time being. You must realize that since you _are_ a Mudblood," he said it as though it were her name and not an insult, "This offer means great sacrifice on his part. Therefore, in order to repay Mr McNib for your food, lodging and any... items of clothing or accessories he provides, you will do everything he asks of you. Labour in return for your life. You got the better end of the bargain, my way of thinking."

He waved his hand in some sort of signal and McNib and the hooded Death Eater stood on either side of Hermione and marched her out of the Main Hall and into a smaller antechamber, where the hooded Death Eater put down his hood.

"You! Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed.

Draco smirked. "It's _Mr _Malfoy to you, you scum." Hermione glared at Draco. She started to say something but found that she could not. McNib had silenced her. He turned to Draco.

"Thank you for naming to our Dark Lord," He said this in a business-like tone and sounded very insincere. "He would not have rewarded me otherwise."

Draco nodded curtly. "With a reward like that," he spat at Hermione, "It was really nothing at all." Hermione understood that it was an insult to McNib but he seemed oblivious. He gave a small smile and nodded to Draco before grabbing Hermione's elbow and pulling her along with him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I hope the second chapter was long enough for those of you who thought the first one was too short. Like I said before, that was supposed to be like a prologue.

ann: I will.  
atsume: Thank you : )  
Bea: I hope you like this chapter as much as the first then.  
BlueEyedTears: Thanks for the compliment : )  
BrandyBuckBeak: I hope this is long enough.  
dimondcrystal12: I think it will be too.  
Harrena Potter: This was soon enough right?  
Josiah: Thanks.  
juliachan: Thanks very much.  
Kristen: Thanks for adding me! : )  
owlsrock: Thanks for the advice.  
starzcrossed: I did not realize that it was so short until I read it over.  
urges: You know what? I love your username.  
zuvalupa: Thank you.


	3. Three

**Draco and Hermione  
**by aphrodite-phaedra

McNib's home was huge. Almost as big as Hogwarts' East Wing. From the front, Hermione counted fourteen windows, eight on the second floor and six on the first. The driveway itself was enormous with fountains every fifteen metres or so. Everything was so orderly and tranquil, as if the war had not happened and it was still peacetime.

In one of corner off the driveway, two young children and a black Labrador were playing with a ball. The older child, who looked at least eight, was a boy with curly blonde hair and intelligent green eyes. The younger child looked about five and was a girl who looked exactly like McNib, with his straight brown hair and matching brown eyes.

McNib called out to them. "Eric! Nicole! Get over here now!" He sounded surprisingly strict with them. The children very obediently put down the ball and walked over. They stared curiously at Hermione. "Now, children, what did I say about playing in the gardens?"

"You said we were not to play until after tea, sir." Eric answered timidly.

"So what is your excuse for directly disobeying my orders?"

Nicole started to look scared and hid herself behind Eric. "Please sir, mother gave us permission to play. She said Duke might need exercise."

"He can be walked by a servant can't he? Go back to your books. Now!" Hermione thought that he had forgotten about her until he turned to her with a slimy smile on his face. "Come, I wish to introduce you to my wife."

He led her through the front door, which was a gigantic and made of oak, up the curved marble staircase, along a hallway and into a bedroom. It was all done up in shades of white that gave it an almost clinical feel. In the centre of the room was an enormous four poster bed, covered with silver bed sheets and bed hangings, on which McNib's wife lay. McNib walked up to her bedside and propped her up.

Eric evidently got his delicate features from his mother. Her blonde curls fell to just beneath her generous bosom and her green eyes locked onto Hermione, studying her. "You are the Dark Lord's reward, I presume. Hmm." She gave a small sigh. "Very pretty." She got out of the bed, slipping her feet into intricately embroidered satin slippers. She was pregnant. "You will sleep in the kitchen with the other maids and will only come when you are summoned. Clare will give you your chores." Then she smirked at Hermione in a manner that made her itch to slap her. "You may leave us now."

Hermione blinked and turned around. Where was she supposed to go? No one had shown her the kitchens yet. She decided to just look for them herself. She walked back through the hallway and down the stairs, starting when a hand reached out for her arm.

"Hello. You must be the new girl then." Said a short, plump lady, "I'm Clare and you are?"

"Hermione Granger." Hermione answered cautiously.

"Yes, very well then, please follow me." Clare led her through a set of carved doors and then down some stairs. At the foot of the stairs were two doors. "Now then, love, this door on the right is the kitchen door. Simply push it open to enter. This other one, however, is a bit more complicated." She pointed to the door knob. "When you want to enter your room, you have to turn this ninety degrees to the left and then repeat your password. Yours is 'monarchy', I believe. Go on then, try it."

Hermione placed her hand on the door knob and winced. It was very cold. She turned it to the left and then repeated her password. The door knob then slowly swivelled back to its original position and the door opened. Inside was a tiny room, no bigger than the broom cupboards at Hogwarts. In one corner lay a mattress with a thin blanket at its foot.

"This is your room," Clare could hardly fit in there with her. "You will stay here at all times unless it is your turn to do duty or you are called. The mistress does not like the idea of maids wandering about the place." She made to close the door and then stopped and said, "Your duty will be serving the mistress and you will do this duty during the day. If the mistress should need assistance at night you will also be the one to help her. Have you any questions?"

"Yes, just one: when do I begin with this… duty?"

"Tomorrow morning. I will send someone to wake you early, so sleep well now."

"Thank you, Clare. Good night."

"Good night."

Author's Note:

I'm sorry if you guys think these are too short but if you want them longer, they'll take more time to write. I know I have not really been updating that frequently but I am very bust at the moment and am still working the story through. Thank you those of you who commented. a-p.


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